The city of Oakwood, Ohio passed an ordinance on July 11, 2011 that incorporates a new section (§505.121) into the existing ordinance. Section 505.121 expands the definition of dangerous or vicious dog to include specific breeds of dogs, i.e., “pit bulls.”
While the Ohio code automatically deems “pit bulls” as vicious dogs, Oakwood’s previous ordinance did not include this breed specific language. We’ve seen some very positive changes in Ohio recently, cities like Toledo and Cleveland have dropped the breed specific language from their long-standing ordinances. In addition, a bill that would remove “pit bulls” from the state dangerous dog law has been approved by the Ohio House of Representatives. Unfortunately, while the rest of Ohio seems to be moving forward to create effective laws that define a dangerous dog by its actions rather than its breed, Oakwood is taking a step backward.
The new ordinance can be found at this link:
http://www.ci.oakwood.oh.us/PDFs/ord_4733.pdf
It should be noted that §505.121 4(a)(3) does not specifically reference breeds, but instead references the Ohio Code. If and/or when the state law changes, the Oakdwood municiple code would change, as well. Unfortunately, until that change happens, they now have a breed specific ordinance.
